u. 00 .-< N l' N .-< 0 N > 00
Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
The individual safety features of your vehicle can
work together as a system to help protect you
and your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if they
are not always correctly adjusted and correctly
used .
This chapter contains important informat ion,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others . We have summar
iz ed here what you need to know about safety
belts, airbags, child restraints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1. Al
ways observe the information and warnings in
this section -for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The informa tion in t his section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle. Some of the fea
tures described in this sections may be standard
eq uip ment on some models, or may be optional
equ ipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-Always make sure that you follow the in
struct ions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the in
terest of your passengers .
-
-Always keep the complete Owner's Litera
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell yo ur
vehicle so that this important information
w ill always be available to the driver and
passengers.
-Always keep the Owner's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques
tions .
Driving safety
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job ! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care
ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers,
before driving always:
.. Make sure that a ll lights and signals are operat
ing correctly.
.. Make sure tha t the tire pressure is correct .
.. Make sure that all w indows are clean and afford
good vis ibility to the outs ide.
.. Secure all luggage and othe r items ca refully
c::> page 63, c::> page 63 .
.. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
peda ls .
.. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correct ly for your height.
.. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re
straints according to their height.
.. Make sure to use the right child restraint cor
rectly to protect children
c::> page 294, Child
safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure t hat
your passengers do the same
c::> page 59, Front
seats .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly. Al
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe
ty belts properly
c::> page 260.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle , the driver as well as the driver 's abili
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis
tracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve
hicle and a ll of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impa ired, safety risks for everybody in the
vehicle increase and you a lso become a hazard to
everyone else on the road
c::> &_ . Therefore:
.. Do not let yourse lf be distracted by passengers
or by using a cellular telephone .
.. NEVER drive when your driving abi lity is im
pa ired (by med ications, alcohol, drugs, etc .) .
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed lim its and plain common sense .
.,.
249
Airbag syste m
-Never hold the steering whee l at the 12
o'clock pos it ion or w ith your han ds any
where inside the steering wheel or on the steering wheel hub. Holding t he steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the d river a irbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag w il l in
crease the risk of inj ury in a crash by interfer
ing w ith the way the airbag unfo lds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that could be str uck
by the airbag when it inflates.
-
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de
ploys and cause serious persona l injury .
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessor ies or other objec ts
(s uch as c up ho lders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, o r bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind
shield; never place them over or near or at
tach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the seat backrests; never p lace them between
these a reas and yo u or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the w indshield
above the passenger front airbag, s uch as
accessory GPS navigation uni ts or mus ic
players . S uch objects could ca use serio us in
jury in a collision, especially when the air bags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects . Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side a irbags or
the front a irbag during breaking o r in a sud
den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerous ly through the passenger com
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in
flate.
274
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small ch ildren, wi ll receive
serious in juries and can even be k illed by be
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant o r a small child
is on the fron t passenger sea t, nobody can
absolu tely guarantee tha t deployment un
de r these specia l condi tions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of yo ur vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy in
accordance with the
,. low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S. Fed
eral Standard if a child w ith electrical capac
itance greater than the combined capac i
tance of a typical one-year o ld infant re
strained in one of the forward facing or rea r
ward-facing chi ld seats with which yo ur ve
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the o ther conditions for airbag de-
ployment are me t.
- Accident s tatisti cs have shown th at children
are generally safer in the rear seat are a than
in the front seat ing pos ition.
- For their own s afety, all ch ildren, especi ally
12 years and younger, should alw ays ride in
the back proper ly restrained for their age
and size .
Advanced front airbag system
-
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Veh icle Safety Standard
(CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the t ime your vehi
cle was manufactu red .
The front Advanced A irbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide add itiona l protect ion
for the driver 's and front passenger's heads and
upper bod ies in fronta l crashes. The a irbags in
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de-
ce le ra tion is high e no ugh.
II>-
Airbag syste m
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal
led o n the front passenger seat will be ser i
ously injured and can be k ille d if the front air
bag in flate s - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, cente r arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the
rea r seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear
facing child seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-
-
Objects between you and the a irbag w ill in
crease the risk of in jury in a crash by interfer
ing w ith the way the airbag unfolds or by be
ing pushed into you as the a irbag inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the fron t passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags du r
ing bra king or other sudden maneuve rs and
become dangerous projec tiles that c an
ca use serious pe rsonal injury if the a irbags
inflate.
- Never pl ace or attach accessor ies or o ther
objects (such as cup ho lders, te lephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or nea r the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags infla te.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects . Items can also move into
the a rea of the side airbag o r the front a ir-
280
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become pro jecti les and cause injury, part icularly
when the seat is reclined .
- Never p lace or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to ai rbag system
that the seat is occ upied by a person when it
in fact is no t, or that the pe rson on the seat
is he avie r th an he or she act ually is. The
change in electric capacitan ce beca use of
such objects can cause the passenge r front
airbag to be turne d on when it should be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
wo rked without objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the sea t to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier th an the person actu ally
si tting on the sea t. The presence of an o b
ject could ca use the passenger front air bag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way that is diffe rent from the way it would have
worked without the object on the seat.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing prob lems for people with a
h istory of asthma or othe r breath ing cond i
tions .
- To reduce the r isk of breathing p roblems ,
those wi th asthma o r other respiratory con
ditions sho uld get fresh a ir rig ht away by
getting out of the vehi cle or opening win
dows or doors.
- If you are in a co llision in which airbags de
ploy, w ash yo ur hands and f ace with m ild
soap and water be fore eating.
- Be ca refu l not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue sho uld get into your eyes,
flush them w ith wate r.
Airbag syste m
seat into its rearmost position in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
Make sure that the
P A SSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the t ime
whenever the ignition is sw itched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go o ut w hen an ad ult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adu lt is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seating positions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer before transporting anyone on
the front passenger seat .
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenge r detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the fronta l airbag on the passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSE NGER
AIR BAG OFF light will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent places on your Aud i. Install ing , remov
ing, servic ing or repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a pa rt of an airbag system
and p revent that system from working properly
in a co llision .
There are some important th ings you have to
know to make sure that the effect iveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and th at discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or dep loying an airbag
unexpectedly:
284
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup ho lders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the a irbag un its .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois
tened w it h plai n water . Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the st iffness or strength of the material so
that the ai rbag cannot deploy and p rotect
p roperly.
- Never repair, ad just, o r change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steer ing wheel, inst rument
pa nel, front seats o r electr ica l system ( in
cl uding the insta llation of a udio eq uipment,
cell ular te lephones and CB radios, etc.)
m ust be performed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and specia l equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur a u
thorized A udi dealer or qualified workshop .
- Never modify the front b umper or parts of
the vehicle body.
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inf late wit hout interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not bee n specifica lly approved by
A udi .
- Never use additional seat c ushi ons that
cover the areas where the side airbags in
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
t h e seam in the area of the s ide a irbag
module mus t always be repai red immedi
ate ly by an authorized Aud i dealer.
- The airba g sys tem can deploy o nly on ce. Af
t er an airbag has been dep loyed, i t m ust be
replaced with new replaceme nt parts de
signed and approved especia lly for your
Aud i mode l version . Rep lacement of com
plete airbag systems or airbag components
must be performed by qua lified workshops
only . Make sure t hat any airbag service
Airbag system
-Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag module must always be repaired immedi
ately by an authorized Audi dealer .
- Objects between you and the airbag can in
crease the risk of injury in an accident by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by being pushed into you as the a irbag in
flates.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, or even large, bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can become
dangerous projectiles and cause injury
when the supplemental s ide airbag de
ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de
ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow chi ldren or other passen
gers to travel in this posit ion.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks only for
lightweight clothing . Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with side airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in an accident .
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- T he airbag system can only be triggered
once .
If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
original seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side airbag modu le must always
be repaired immediately by an authorized
Audi dealer.
-If children are seated improper ly, their risk
of injury increases in the case of an acc ident
¢ page 2 94, Child safety.
-Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag system in any way.
-In a side collision, side airbags w ill not func
t ion properly if sensors cannot correctly
measure increasing air pressure inside the
290
doors when air escapes through larger, un
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never drive with inte rior door trim panels
r emoved.
- Never dr ive when parts have been re
moved from the inside door panel and the
openings they leave have not been proper
l y closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
cove red or filled if additional speakers or
other equipment is installed in the inside
door panels .
- Always have work on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dealer or qualified work
shop .
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
Applies to: vehicles with side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag sys tem can provide sup
plemental protection to properly restrained oc
cupants .
Fig. 24S Sid e curt ain air b ags , driver's s ide: s ide curt ain air
bag location (example)
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the inter ior above the front and rear side win
dows ¢
fig. 245. They are identified by the word
"A IRBAG" on the windshie ld frame and the cen
ter roof pillar.
The side curtain airbags contain features that
provide ejection mitigation to help prevent vehi-
cle occupants or parts of their bodies from being completely or partia lly ejected from the vehicle
II>
Checking and Filling
~ After the fuel pump has switched off, wait five seconds before removing it to allow the rest of
the fuel to finish dripping into the fuel tank.
~ Turn the fue l cap clockwise until you hear it
lock.
~ Close the fuel filler door and then press on the
left side until it latches .
The correct fuel type for your vehicle can be
found on a label located on the inside of the fuel
filler door. For additional information on fuel,
see
Qpage 314 .
For the tank capacity in your vehicle, refer to the
Technical Data
Qpage 382.
To reduce the risk of fuel leaking out or vapors
escaping, make sure that the fuel tank is closed
correctly. Otherwise
thP ¢..iff indicator light will
turn on.
If the centra l locking system malfunctions, the
fuel filler door may emergency release
Qpage317.
A WARNING
An improper fueling procedure and improper
handling of fuel can lead to explosions, fires,
severe burns and other injuries.
-Do not smoke and keep away from open
flames.
-The ignition must be switched off when re
fueling.
-Cell phones, radio devices and other radio
equipment should always be switched off
when refueling. Electromagnetic rays could cause sparks and start a fire.
-If you do not insert the fuel pump nozzle all
the way into the filler tube, then fuel can
leak out. Spilled fuel can ignite and start a
fire.
-Never get into the vehicle when refueling. If
there is an exceptional situation where the
vehicle must be entered, close the door and
touch a metal surface before touching the
fuel pump nozzle again. This will reduce the
risk of electrostatic discharge that can cause
flying sparks. Sparks can start a fire when
refueling.
316
A WARNING
We recommend that you do not transport any
fuel containers in the vehicle. Fuel could leak
out of the container and ignite, especially dur
ing an accident. This can cause explosions,
fires and injuries.
-If you must transport fuel in a fuel contain
er, please note the following:
-Always place a fuel container on the
ground before filling. Never fill the fuel
container with fuel while it is in or on the
vehicle. Electrostatic charge can occur
while refueling and the fuel vapors could
ignite .
-For fuel containers made of metal, the
fuel pump nozzle must always maintain
contact with the container to reduce the
risk of static charge.
-Insert the fuel pump nozzle as far as pos
sible into the filler opening while refuel
ing.
-Follow legal requirements when using,
storing and transporting fuel containers.
-Make sure that the fuel container meets
the industry standards, for example ANSI
or ASTM F852-86.
@ Note
-Remove fuel that has overflowed onto any
vehicle components immediately to reduce
the risk of damage to the vehicle.
-Never drive until the fuel tank is completely
empty. The irregular supply of fuel that re
sults from that can cause engine misfires.
Uncombusted fuel will enter the exhaust
system and increase the risk of damage to
the catalytic converter.
@I For the sake of the environment
Do not overfill the fuel tank, otherwise fuel
can leak out when the vehicle is warming up.
© Tips
The fuel filler door on your vehicle does not lock if you lock the vehicle from the inside us-
ing the central locking switch.
II>-
Wheels
~ Adapt your driving style to the situation.
~ Stop as soon as possible and check the tire(s) .
~ If it is possible to continue driving, see an au-
thorized Audi dea ler or authorized Audi Service
Facility immediately and have your tire(s) re
paired or replaced.
A WARNING
Read and follow the important information
and
notes ~ page 350.
Storing new tire pressures
App lies to: ve hicles w ith tire press ure m on itoring system
Correctly stored tire pressure specifications are
necessary for reliable tire pressure monitoring.
-
It is always necessary to store the tire pressures
when the tire pressures are modified, for exam ple due to a change in load. or when new sensors
are installed .
~ Before storing the tire pressures, make sure the
tire pressures of all four tires meet the speci
fied values and are adapted to the load
~ page 341, fig . 2 78 . Only correct and store
the pressure in tires whose temperature is ap
prox imat ely the same as the ambient tempera
ture .
If the temperature of the tire is higher
than the ambient air temperature, the tire
pressure must be increased approximate ly
3 .0 PSI (0 .2 bar) above the va lue on the sticker .
~ Switch the ignition on.
~ Select in the Infotainment system: IMENUI but
ton
> Vehicle > left control button > Service &
checks > Tire pressure monitoring > Store tire
pressure > Yes, store now .
After storing the
tire pressu res, the t ire pressu re monitoring sys
tem measures the current pressures wh ile driv
in g and stores them as the new specified pres
sures.
~ If the changed tire pressures are not displayed
in the Infotainment system, drive the vehicle
for approximate ly 10 minutes so that the sen
sor signal from the wheels is received again.
During this adaptation phase, --.-- is displayed
for the pressure and temperature and the tire
pressure mon itor ing system is only partially
ava ilable. It only provides a warning if one or
352 more
tire pressures is below the minimum per
mitted specified pressure.
If the
[I] ind icator light turns on and the mes
sage
Tire pressure : wheel change detected .
Please check all tires and store pressures in
MMI also appears, the system has detected that
the position of the sensors has changed because
of a tire rotation, or that new sensors were in
stalled. Store the new tire pressures.
A WARNING
Read and follow the important information
and notes
~pag e 350.
Malfunctions
Applies to: vehicles with t ire pressure mo nitori ng syste m
If the tire pressure monitoring system is not
available, t he
mm in dicator light appears in the
instr umen t cluste r display along with the mes
sage
Tire pressure : malfun ction! See owner's
manual.
-
If the ffim ind icator light appears after switch
in g the ignitio n on or wh ile dr iving and the
[IJ in
dicator light also blinks for approximately one
minute and then stays on, there is a system ma l
function . The fo llowing are examples of situa
tions that could cause a malfunction:
- If the message appears at the end of the adap
tation phase, the system may not detect one or
several of the whee l sensors necessary for pres
sure monitoring. This may res ult from one or
more whee ls being installed without wheel sen
sors or with incompatible wheel sensors.
- A wheel sensor or another component has
fa iled.
- Using snow chains can affect the function of
the system because of the shielding effect of
the chains.
- The tire pressure monitoring system is not
avai lab le due to a ma lfunction.
- Transmitters with the same frequency, such as
headphones or remote-controlled devices, may
cause a temporary system malfunct ion due to
the strong electromagnetic field.
.,.
Emergency situations
flowing when connecting the positive termi
nals and the vehicle battery in the vehicle
providing the jump start cou ld be drained.
- Jump start cables can cause considerab le
damage to the vehicle electrical system if
they are connected incorrectly.
- The drained vehicle battery must be con
nected correctly to the electrical system.
- P lease note that the connecting process de
scribed below for the jump start cables is in
tended for when your vehicle is being jump
started. If you are jump starting another ve
hicle, do not connect the negative cable to
the negat ive terminal( -) on the drained ve
hicle battery, but rather connect it to a large
metal component that is bolted securely to
the engine block, or to the engine block it
se lf. If the vehicle battery in the vehicle be
ing jump started is not vented to the out
side, there is a risk of explosion due to hy
drogen gas.
@ Tips
If a car phone is installed, switch it off or
check the operating guide for what to do in
this situation.
A3 models: starting the engine
Both jump start cables must be connected in the
correct order!
F ig. 300 Ju mp starting using a vehicle batte ry in anot her
vehicle :@ - dra ined, @- providing cu rrent
Plug-in hybrid drive *: the connection points for
the jump start cables vary Q
page 102.
The vehicle battery is located on the left front
side of the engine compartment . Open the cover
to access the positive terminal of the vehicle bat-
376
tery. The procedure for connecting jump start ca
bles that is described next is designed to help
j ump start your vehicle .
Follow the information about the vehicle battery
Qpage 326 .
Preparations
1. Read the following carefully ¢ page 375,
Preparation.
2. Set the parking brake and select neutral on
vehicles with a manual transmission, or move
the selector lever to the P position on
vehicles with an automatic transmission .
3. Turn the ignition and electrical equipment
off in both vehicles.
Connecting/disconnecting the jump start
cable
4. Fold the battery cover upward.
5. Clamp the end of the red jump start cable to
the termina l
(D ¢ fig. 300 on the drained ve
hicle
battery @Q(D in Preparation on
page
375 .
6. Clamp the other end of the red jump start ca
ble to the positive terminal @on the vehicle
battery providing the current @.
7. Clamp the black end of the jump start cab le
preferably at the ground point, or on the
negative terminal of the vehicle battery@
on the vehicle providing the current @.
8. Clamp the other end of the black jump start
cable
only to the ground point © on your
vehicle @Q(D .
9. Route the jump start cables so they cannot
get caught in the moving parts in the engine
compartment.
Starting the engine
10. First start the engine in the vehicle giving the
charge and let it run at idle.
11. Now start the engine in the vehicle with the
dra ined vehicle battery and wait two to three
minutes until it "r uns smoothly".
12. If the engi ne does not start, stop the starting
procedure after 10 seconds and then repeat
it after approximately 30 seconds .
13. In the vehicle that is being jump started, switch the heater fan and rear window
..,,